Color Our World: Teens

Our 2025 Bookworm Summer Reading Theme is Color Your World. We invite you to explore the world around you through art and books. Here are some to get you started!

Updated March 12, 2025
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When it all syncs up
Ameyaw, Maya
Paper Book
"A stunning read [. . .] simmering with tension and gripping to the final word." --Debbie Rigaud, New York Times bestselling author of Simone Breaks All the Rules and A Girl's Guide to Love & Magic Now in paperback! A Black teen dancer with dreams of landing a spot in a prestigious ballet...
Red Queen
Aveyard, Victoria
Paper Book
The #1 New York Times bestselling series! Red Queen, by #1 New York Times bestselling author Victoria Aveyard, is a sweeping tale of power, intrigue, and betrayal, perfect for fans of Lauren Robert's Powerless and George R.R. Martin's Game of Thrones series. Mare Barrow's world is...
Wolfwood
Baer, Marianna
Paper Book
Indigo is the daughter of famous reclusive artist Zoe Serra, who made a splash in the '90s art world. But since her mom's breakdown, the two have been barely scraping by. When a gallery owner offers Zoe a revival show for her blockbuster Wolfwood series--which Zoe never finished--Indigo sees it as a...
Cinderella is dead
Bayron, Kalynn
Paper Book
"Wholly original and captivating." - Brigid Kemmerer, New York Times bestselling author of A Curse So Dark and Lonely Girls team up to overthrow the kingdom in this unique and powerful retelling of Cinderella from a stunning new voice that's perfect for fans of...
Silver in the bone
Bracken, Alexandra
Paper Book
INSTANT #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * From the critically acclaimed author of Lore comes a stunning contemporary fantasy inspired by Celtic lore--the tale of a teenage girl who seeks her destiny in the cursed ruins of Avalon, driven by love, revenge, and pure adrenaline!...
Rule of threes
Campbell, Marcy
Paper Book
Part family drama, part contemporary thriller, Rule of Threes is a middle grade story about what happens when "perfect" is out of your control. An interior design enthusiast, twelve-year-old Maggie Owens is accustomed to living her life according to her own precise plans....
Spin
Caprara, Rebecca
Paper Book
A Chicago Public Library Teen-Approved Best Book of 2023 "A powerful feminist retelling of an ancient tale about empathy and defiance, written in beautiful verse from a truly unique viewpoint." --Margarita Engle, Newbery Honor-winning author of The Surrender Tree...
When the vibe is right
Dass, Sarah
Paper Book
From the author of Where the Rhythm Takes You comes a delightful enemies-to-lovers, contemporary romance set during Trinidad's Carnival celebration.  There are two things Tess Crawford knows for sure:  She's destined to be a great Trinidadian Carnival...
Wings in the wild
Engle, Margarita
Paper Book
This gorgeously romantic contemporary novel-in-verse from award-winning author Margarita Engle tells the "inspiring and hopeful" (Kirkus Reviews, starred review) love story of two teens fighting for climate action and human rights. Winged beings are meant to be free. And...
Once upon a broken heart
Garber, Stephanie
Paper Book
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER! ONCE UPON A BROKEN HEART marks the launch of a new series from Stephanie Garber about love, curses, and the lengths that people will go to for happily ever after For as long as she can remember, Evangeline Fox has...
Under rose-tainted skies
Gornall, Louise
Paper Book
Norah has agoraphobia and OCD. When groceries are left on the porch, she can't step out to get them. Struggling to snag the bags with a stick, she meets Luke. He's sweet and funny, and he just caught her fishing for groceries. Because of course he did.       Norah...
All the stars and teeth
Grace, Adalyn
Paper Book
AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER FROM THE AUTHOR OF THE BELLADONNA SERIES! "Fierce and unrelenting...Do yourself a favor and get lost in this beautiful book!" --Tomi Adeyemi, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Children of Blood and Bone<...
Girl in the blue coat
Hesse, Monica
Paper Book
"A beautiful combination of heartbreak, loss, young love, and hope."―Kristin Hannah, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Nightingale   ★ NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER ★ Edgar Award Winner for Best Young Adult Mystery Novel...
The house in the cerulean sea
Klune, TJ
Paper Book
A NEW YORK TIMES, USA TODAY, and WASHINGTON POST BESTSELLER! A 2021 Alex Award winner! The 2021 RUSA Reading List: Fantasy Winner! An Indie Next Pick! One of Publishers Weekly's "Most Anticipated Books of Spring 2020"...
The giver
Lowry, Lois
Paper Book
The Giver, the 1994 Newbery Medal winner, has become one of the most influential novels of our time. The haunting story centers on twelve-year-old Jonas, who lives in a seemingly ideal, if colorless, world of conformity and contentment. Not until he is given his life assignment as the...
No filter and other lies
Maldonado, Crystal
Paper Book
You should know, right now, that I'm a liar. They're usually little lies. Tiny lies. Baby lies. Not so much lies as lie adjacent. But they're still lies... Golden-haired Max Monroe has it all: beauty, friends, and tons of followers. Her picture...
We Are All So Good at Smiling
Mcbride, Amber
Paper Book
They Both Die at the End meets The Bell Jar in this haunting, beautiful young adult novel-in-verse about clinical depression and healing from trauma, from National Book Award Finalist Amber McBride. Whimsy is back in the hospital for treatment of...
The 9:09 project
Parsons, Mark H.
Paper Book
A thoughtful exploration about finding oneself, learning to hope after loss, and recognizing the role that family, friends, and even strangers can play in the healing process if you are open and willing to share your experience with others. It has been two years since his mom's...
The edge of in between
Savaryn, Lorelei
Paper Book
A spellbinding, twisty, magical retelling of The Secret Garden that takes readers on a journey through what separates the living and the dead. Lottie lives in Vivelle, a vibrant city where life exists in brilliant technicolor and nearly everyone is born with magic,...
Between shades of gray
Sepetys, Ruta.
Paper Book
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * From the award-winning author of Salt to the Sea comes a "superb" (The Wall Street Journal), "eye-opening" (Los Angeles Times) novel of survival and hope in the darkest of places--the inspiration for the major motion picture Ashes in the...
The art of insanity
Webb, Christine
Paper Book
High schooler Natalie Cordova has just been diagnosed with Bipolar disorder. Her mom insists she keep it secret. Putting up a front and hiding her mental illness from her classmates is going to be the hardest thing high schooler Natalie Cordova has ever done. It's her senior year...

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